girls

These are some of the views and reports relevant to our readers that caught our attention this week.

2016 Ibrahim Index of African GovernanceMo Ibrahim Foundation
The IIAG provides an annual assessment of the quality of governance in every African country. Originally established with the John F. Kennedy School of Government (Harvard University), presently the IIAG consists of more than 90 indicators built up into 14 sub-categories, four categories and one overall measurement of governance performance. These indicators include official data, expert assessments and citizen surveys, provided by more than 30 independent global data institutions. This represents the most comprehensive collection of data on African governance. MIF defines governance as the provision of the political, social and economic goods that a citizen has the right to expect from his or her state, and that a state has the responsibility to deliver to its citizens. The Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) assesses progress under four main conceptual categories: Safety & Rule of Law, Participation & Human Rights, Sustainable Economic Opportunity, and Human Development.

World Economic and Social Survey 2016- Climate Change Resilience: an opportunity for reducing inequalitiesUN Department of Economic and Social Affairs
The World Economic and Social Survey 2016 contributes to the debate on the implementation challenges of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In addressing the specific challenge of building resilience to climate change, the Survey focuses attention on the population groups and communities that are disproportionately affected by climate hazards. It argues that, in the absence of transformative policies which coherently address the economic, social and environmental dimensions of development, building climate resilience will remain elusive and poverty and inequalities will worsen. To the extent that the differential impact of climate hazards on people and communities is determined largely by the prevalence of multiple inequalities in respect of the access to resources and opportunities, policies aimed at building climate resilience provide an opportunity to address the structural determinants of poverty and inequality in their multiple dimensions.

People, Spaces, Deliberation bloggers present exceptional campaign art from all over the world. These examples are meant to inspire.

A video went viral yesterday. You may have seen it. It is a remake of the famous 90’s girl-power song “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls. In the video, girls and women from different places of the world sing to the famous tune while showing signs and posters of what they “really really want” for girls.

This campaign has been put together by The Global Goals, an initiative that is working to raise awareness, popular support and global action for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The 17 SDGs were adopted by the United Nations in 2015, and each of the goals contain specific global targets to be achieved by 2030. Goal #5 is for gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls.

At first she looks like any bride: wearing a white wedding dress with her face covered with the wedding veil and carrying a bridal bouquet. Except that she is no ordinary bride. She is being sold.

As she removes her veil from her face, her forehead appears marked with a barcode. Her left eye is badly bruised and a big scratch on her cheek is as red as a war wound.

The girl in the music video “Brides for Sale” is portrayed by Sonita Alizadeh, an Afghan teen rapper who sings in the video about the ordeal many girls in Afghanistan go through when are sold by their families to marry at an early age in return of money.

On the morning of June 14, 2016, I found myself surrounded by 5,000 women as part of the first day of the first United State of Women Summit convened by The White House at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The #StateofWomen movement brought together activists from all 50 US states and from around the world. The Summit was a result of President Obama’s establishment of the White House Council on Women and Girls, which was initiated seven and a half years ago.

The two-day gathering focused on key gender equality issues including economic empowerment, health and wellness, educational opportunities, violence against women, entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as leadership and civic engagement. Participants had the opportunity to celebrate their achievements and to be inspired to meet the challenges yet to come. The stimulating plenary sessions were mixed with solutions seminars, entertainment, and exhibitions. The Summit featured speakers such as First Lady Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Nancy Pelosi, Kerry Washington, Patricia Arquette, Tory Burch, and Shonda Rhimes among many others. The MCs of the Summit were two very powerful women’s right advocates: Valerie Jarrett and Tina Tchen. The stimulating plenary sessions were mixed with solutions seminars, entertainment, and exhibitions.

This refrain captures the common sentiment in Armenia, and is at the heart of the growing issue of sex imbalances in the country. Armenia today has one of the most imbalanced sex ratios at birth in the world, with 114 baby boys born for every 100 baby girls, above the natural rate of 105. We recently met with groups across Armenia to dig deeper into the root causes of sex preferences, with the hope of helping find an effective policy solution.

This issue has long affected countries like China, India and others in Asia, but it has emerged only recently in the South Caucasus. In Armenia, the ratio of boy births to girl births started increasing in the 1990s, when economic disruption and the desire to have smaller families, combined with the availability of sex detection technology, led many families to choose sex selection in the quest to have a son. The result? A generation of “missing girls,” as Amartya Sen first called this phenomenon.

The entire world is hypnotized by the struggle of the European continent with the rapidly escalating numbers of refugees and migrants from Africa and the Middle East. Yet, only a handful reflect about the plight of those who stay behind, entangled in violence and persecution, or those who remain in refugee camps. Some believe those 'left behind' are the solution and saviors to the future of the Middle East and Africa, and one great way to help them is to give them bicycles.

“Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance.” – Susan B. Anthony

In 2015 alone, the UN Refugee Agency reported that of the 520,957 people attempting to cross the Mediterranean, 2,980 died or went missing. Eighteen percent of the migrants are children and 13% are women. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, an estimated 200,000 additional refugees are still planning to make the sea journey by the end of 2015. So, the seismic human waves are far from subsiding in the region.

Today, there are a series of internal and regional armed conflicts around the world, most of which are concentrated in two regions: the Middle East and Africa. The desperate attempts by so many Syrians to flee Assad regime’s and the Islamic state’s terror by escaping to security in Europe has caught the world’s attention. However, Syrians are not alone in deserving compassion. Although international interest in Afghanistan has waned and most foreign troops are gone, the war there is only getting worse. In addition, there is an influx of desperate refugees from Eritrea, Iraq, Libya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan, Gambia, and Bangladesh who are just as entitled to refugee status as the others.

While humanity is being washed ashore in the Mediterranean Sea, the treacherous passage does not resemble a migration, but a human tsunami. The departing refugees and migrants leave a vacuum, as the most skilled, able-bodied, and educated keep leaving the continent, most of them are males. This leaves females, elderly and disabled behind and entangled in the local violence. The families left behind often count on reuniting with their loved ones in the near future or hope to receive remittances to support their livelihoods as they try to rebuild their communities.

What should the world do with these gutted societies? The global community should invest in women power, leadership opportunities for women, and in modifying the social order with regards to female emancipation on the continent. We must pay immediate attention and react with empathy and solidarity.

For far too long, women and girls in Africa have faced discrimination and inequalities in the workforce which have not only hurt them, but their families, communities and their countries as a whole. As we begin 2015, the African Union’s Year of Women’s Empowerment, one thing is clear: we will not reduce poverty without working to achieve gender equality.

While most governments in Africa acknowledge that empowering women and girls is a key contributor to economic development, the fertility transition in Africa ─ an important factor in sustained economic growth ─ has been much slower than in other regions of the world. Access to family planning and maternal health services – as well as education for girls – typically results in improved economic opportunity for women and lower fertility. Some governments in Africa are seeking innovative ways to accelerate the demographic transition. In Niger, for example, where the fertility rate (7.6 children per woman) is among the highest in the world, “School for Husbands”, an education program delivered by trusted, traditional community leaders are flourishing across the country and highlighting the benefits of family planning and reproductive health.

Change. Global leaders galvanize nations in pursuit of it, advocates demand that policymakers facilitate it, and I’d suggest that we all strive to be a part of it. As the saying goes, change is “easier said than done.” But young people don’t seem to see it that way. Not only are young people calling for social, political and economic change, but they are being the change.

Today’s generation of young people is the largest the world has ever seen. In fact, over half the world’s population is under the age of 30. To some, this number may seem daunting – but the way I see it, that’s more than 3.5 billion young people representing 3.5 billion opportunities for change.

We know that when you invest in young people – particularly in girls – the returns are tremendous. Girls with access to education and health care, including youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health information and services, are more likely to marry later and, once mothers, are more likely to send their children to school and provide them with health care.

And the impact flows beyond families and communities: By enrolling just 10% more girls in school, a country can increase its gross domestic product by approximately 3%. In short, when you invest in girls there are ripple effects throughout society – and everybody wins.

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Women in Senegal traditionally have few chances to acquire computer or programming skills. A young woman from Dakar has set out to change that. Binta Coudy De has created a tech hub, Jjiguene Tech Hub, that trains young women in computer and programming skills, preparing them for a career in the high-tech sector.

According the World Bank’s latest report on the state of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) research in Africa, African researchers produce only 1 percent of the world’s research.

As shown in this video, unlocking the talent of women and girls could improve the quality and quantity of scientific research and tech innovation in Africa.

People, Spaces, Deliberation bloggers present exceptional campaign art from all over the world. These examples are meant to inspire.

Failing to educate girls is not only harmful for them, but also for their communities. Educating girls provides them with opportunities to understand the world and contribute to the workforce, improving their income-earning potential and socio-economic status. According to the United Nations, without the input of women, economic growth is slowed and reduced, the personal security of everyone is threatened, the affects of conflicts and disasters are exaggerated, and half of a society’s brain power is wasted.

On 22 July 2014, the UK and UNICEF co-hosted the first Girl Summit to mobilize domestic and international support to end child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) as well as female genital mutilation (FGM) within a generation. The connection between education and these two practices is critical in efforts to ending them.